"Always Believe"

"You have to believe to receive," was all I ever heard when asking about Santa. Christmas Eve was the big night in our house, growing up. The fancy china, Waterford crystal and long stemmed red candles would appear on the table, for our special family dinner. After dinner, our house would fill up with music, friends and family. Inevitably, the dinner table would clear and the cards would come out, for a game of 25.

I have only seen the card game, "25" played in Irish households. Growing up, we learned how to play and it has been a family tradition ever since. It has also been the cause of many an argument, especially between my Dad and Uncles, over "poor card playing!"

Christmas Eve would not be complete without heading into the Bronx. We would load up a car or two and the "Jersey gang" would head into Sam Maguires! I can recall many great Christmas eves there, singing and dancing the night away. There may have even been a few Santa sightings leaving Sam's...or maybe it was just an over indulgence in holiday cheer!

All these memories and thoughts were put down on paper as Patrick and I started writing, "Always Believe." It was late September and on a whim, we decided to write a Christmas song. One of our goals was to write the song without saying "Christmas." Once we had the lyrics and a melody, it seemed like the parts just fell into place. Frankie came up with the opening hook and John and Kenny played just the right parts to make it sound like Celtic Cross. Within the month, we were in the studio recording.

While in the recording studio, we thought a tin whistle would really add to the song. Ken's 10-year-old son, Kenny Vesey, was more than willing to take a 1/2 day of school to come in and play the tin whistle part for us. He is an amazing talent and was able to play his part in one take. The same week he made is recording debut with Celtic Cross, Kenny was asked to share the stage with Eileen Ivers during her upcoming Christmas concert in Ramsey, NJ, this December. Wow...what a week!

So here it is, "Always Believe!"

Merry Christmas to you!

Cheers-Kathleen

For more information on how to play the card game 25, check-out: http://www.ehow.com/how_4523518_play-card-game-25.html 

East Durham

As a kid, I can remember counting down the days until Memorial Day weekend...well here I go again! Memorial Day weekend not only kicked off the official start of the summer, it also meant that East Durham was finally opened, alive and awake from it's sleepy hibernation of the winter.

Vacations in East Durham were always the highlight of our summer. My parents were always more comfortable in the mountains than the beach...probably because of our "cheap Irish skin." There were tons of families, like ours, packing into this town and great Irish music ringing out of every resort on Rt. 145.  

My brothers and I would spend weeks, leading up to our vacation, practicing what "act" were were going to shop around to the Amateur Hours in order to bring home the prized 'breasted angel on fake marble' trophy with the coveted 1st, 2nd or 3rd place engraved on it. My parents still have shelved of these dusty souvenirs in their basement.

Celtic Cross started playing in Erin's Melody, back in 1990. Erin's was the place to be and it was always packed in with the "young crowd." Hundreds of Irish and Irish Americans would squeeze into the Martin's bar to spend countless nights, drinking and dancing 'til the wee hours.

After 4 am, and well into our 2nd wind, we would head to the "secret" shell pits to sing around a bonfire and drink until the sun came up. Only then, like vampires, would we scatter back to the various mediocre accommodations to sleep again, until the sun went down. 

Although years have gone by since those crazy days, East Durham on Memorial Day weekend, is still the place to be. The Irish festival has a tremendous line-up, and this Saturday, we will be hanging there all day and into the night. We have 2 sets-3:30 and 6:00. Come on by and be sure to say hello. Hope to see you there!

Cheers-Kathleen

A Little History on Celtic Cross

So this is my first blog, and I figured I should introduce myself and tell you a little about me and the band. My name is Kathleen Fee and I have been singing since I could talk and been with Celtic Cross from the beginning. 

My two older brothers, John (accordion) and Kenny (fiddle) are in Celtic Cross, as well as Frankie McCormick (banjo/mandolin), Pat Dineen (bass), Walter Ensor (guitars) and Dave Barckow (drums.) These guys are my best friends and we really have a blast together!!

My Dad, Sean Vesey, comes from Charlestown, Mayo and my Mom, Kathy Ross is from Drumlish, Longford. When I was 8, my family moved back to Ireland and we lived in Dromod, Leitrim. My two brothers, John and Kenny, and I attended Annaduff Primary School, in Leitrim, for 2 years.

During the 2 years that we lived there, we had a difficult time settling into Irish living. When we were in America we were Irish and when we were in Ireland we were American.  The kids we went to school with loved to tease us and call us "Narrowback Yankees." Finally, one day on the school playground, my brother John exploded and beat the sh*t out of 3 boys who were tormenting him. Well that was the end of the "Narrowback Yankee" name calling. After that, they just called him the "Incredible Hulk!"

My best childhood memories are of the time we spent in Ireland. My Grandparents lived on farms and although they didn't have much, they did know how to laugh and make the most out of life. When we moved back to the States, they were heartbroken, but we did return every August for a few weeks.

In the song, "Who I Am," there is a reference to saying good bye to my Grandma. She hated when the Summer was over, and were were leaving. She would always say, "I might never see you again. Sure I might die over the winter." All the while she would be shoving a few pound into our pockets for some "sweets." Every August there she would be, waiting at the gate for us when we returned. Spending that time in Ireland, really solidified the strong Irish connection that John, Ken and I have.

My parents would always say that were were so lucky to have the opportunity to learn an instrument, something they never had. They especially loved to throw that out to us as were were whining about having to practice. I started singing when I was about 5. John has been playing the accordion since he was around 10. Ken has been playing the violin since he was 8 and is also an All-Ireland champion. 

When we came back to the States, my brothers and I started playing at small parties and Irish ceilis. Our first real gig was at a bar, across from Van Cortland Park, in the Bronx. I was 16 at the time and we played there every Sunday. Some of our friends would come down and jam with us, and that is eventually how Celtic Cross got started.  The song, "Those Were The Days," is a lot about those times in the Bronx.

So let me tell you a little about my other "brothers," in the band. Walter Ensor is a Rockaway Beach, Queens native. Walter has been an incredible influence on Celtic Cross. He brings with him a vast knowledge and perspective of many types of music, ranging from the Grateful Dead to bluegrass. What I admire most about Walter is his ability to listen to something, particularly something new we are working on, and know exactly what it needs or what it's missing, to make it complete. 

Pat Dineen, has also been an intrinsic part of Celtic Cross and was instrumental in writing and creating our new CD. Like ourselves, Pat has Irish immigrant parents from Cork and Monaghan. He grew up in Queens and was also immersed in Irish music from an early age. Pat is great at throwing out new song ideas and getting us all together to write and help finish each other's work. He is constantly writing and pushes the rest of us to continue working on songs and tune ideas. 

Frankie McCormick grew up in Northern Ireland, in the county Tyrone. As you can imagine, he has loads and loads of stories of what it was like growing up when the "troubles" were a very real thing. He is an amazing banjo and mandolin player and has competed and won All-Irelands too many times to count. We love to refer to him as the human metronome because his rhythm is always dead on. Frankie has an incredible sense of humor and brings that with him to every gig.

Dave Barckow is another Queens kid and has a completely vast musical background. Along with being an amazing drummer and singer, he also plays the guitar. Before Celtic Cross, he toured the US with a heavy metal band. Dave also knows when to kick things into high gear. He was also incredibly invaluable in the writing of "Shores of America."

So if you haven't heard our new CD yet, go to our website, www.CelticCross.com, where you can click and listen to the tracks. When we set out to write the CD, we wanted to tell the story of us, which is uniquely Irish American. We really wanted to create something that spoke about our experiences and what it is like to be an Irish American. Of course you're always a little unsure of how something new will be received. There is no better feeling for all of us, than performing our own material and having an audience into it and singing along. My only misgiving is that we did not do this sooner.

I will do a future blog about what inspired each track and some of the inspiration behind the writing. If you have any specific questions for me, or any other member of Celtic Cross, you can email us directly through our website.

Cheers-Kathleen